Longboarding Like Mike Virgin on the Apex 40 DiamondDrop

Original Team Rider Michael Virgin continues his freeride on-slaught with more than a few new slide tricks and some truly insane technical consistency. Showcasing a blended tech soft wheel sliding / freeride style of longboarding Michael does the Original Skateboards team, and the new Apex 40 DiamondDrop (with it's 0.925'' dropped platform) proud.
We look forward to a summer of Team travels, downhill experimentation and shooting Michael "the dirty" Virgin.
Thanks fly out to MV and Niko for contributing the edit.
For more like this be sure to check out their KZbin channel;
/ freshlypaved and of course; www.originalskateboards.com

[@felipefreitas1]

2020 still a legend

[@classicroofing9268]

Damn!! It's been 10 yrs. since I did this tow in onto my driveway at 35 mph.🤙🤙 We went 25 mphthe first run. Got back Michael, said we have to do 35.

[@boto8309]

7 years later and still one of the dopest longbording videos

[@originalskateboards]

Mike was a prodigy for sure! Check out @jibbyskate on instagram. They have a similar style and you'll be blown away by his tricks!

[@teamv8longboards]

11 years later and still come back to this video. Michael was SO far ahead of his time in term of technical sliding. Inspired me and still does to this day in my riding style. One of the innovators of technical freeriding to me

[@seanmacnaughton4575]

Hey guys I just wanna say that it's really cool that you guys are so connected with the people who watch your stuff. Just going through this I saw you guys replying to people and helping em out where a lot of companies really don't do that for people. Hope you're having a good day and spread the positive vibes homies

[@professionalkidz]

i think he is the best rider i know .. nobody does tricks like him but its a pitty that he doesn't post videos or stopped boarding.. please someone tell him to skate again he is such a talent

[@RogueTGZ]

i know him in real life, he got into drugs and his life kinda went down hill. Last i heard of him he was in rehab.

[@popbottles229]

@@RogueTGZ skating should be his therapy

[@noahb7947]

still revist this video from time to time. looked up to this guy when i was a kid

[@JWFdocumentaries]

are those 85a wheels?

[@Jfkeus]

like a boss! sick skills

[@prettyynic9738]

brutal skills *.*

[@sjmieze]

Loving the consistency with which you guys keep responding to posts. Mad respect !

[@Joefullager]

Such a high level of talent on the Original team, you always seem to pickup people with real definitive styles. Really cool.

[@GoofeeJay]

This video is siiiiiiiiick. I need to learn how to toe side like that

[@originalskateboards]

Goofee Jay Hey! Thanks for the love. What's your setup look like?

[@GoofeeJay]

No problem. For now it's a Madrid Nessie with 195mm trucks and Blood Orange 60mm 84a wheels.

[@GoofeeJay]

I have a video of me on it on my channel if you wanna check it out,

[@liamcampione6044]

Ayy

[@GoofeeJay]

Hey ;)

[@TheAudiopulse]

1. Longboards dont have to be expensive - you can get the most basic variants without special core-materials etc. for about 80-100 Bucks. Still too much? Start making your own. Many people do - it might take some time to get set up, but its doable. 2. You dont need hills for longboarding. You could as well just Freeride or cruise along - just because it looks less thrilling in a youtube doesnt really mean its less fun. Want one? Get one.

[@merveyose]

Longboard Dancing is the shit!!! TRYING to mix parkour and dance now

[@TheSoCalskaters]

this is my favorite video by far

[@originalskateboards]

The Apex 40 DiamondDrop and all longboards in the Original Skateboards Apex line use noseguards that were designed to produce more pop, both by contacting the ground sooner and by increasing the kick angle as it contacts your foot. The boards were designed to be flipped, and the nose guards were a big piece of that. For both performance and durability, the noseguards are a big reason the Apex series is so killer for freestyle tricks... ie. Mikey's sweet ass treflip.

[@ipurifii3168]

im ganna ge a longboard once my family isnt as poor as we aere and im ganna train till im this good if not better dude, You ROCK!

[@tribbyyonda-bass9186]

dude,you got this haha

[@liamhat2900]

Robert Tribulan LOL xD try it out man!

[@BrettASmith-ee3hq]

long boards are fun. even if you are just rolling around haha, beats a skate board because speed wobble is badddddddd!!!!!!!!!

[@himynameisbrianw]

get your setup used, save a lot more money

[@g5888anthony]

2017 anyone?

[@caseyharwood4808]

2019 boys let's get rippin

[@Freyr77]

2019

[@SwanageBoarding]

i have watched this video pretty much everyday since it came out and never get bored - ever

[@SuperMudbog]

1) sick riding 2) I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS SONG FOR ABSOLUTE EVER! IT'S BOTHERED ME FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS WONDERING WHAT IT WAS! THANK YOOOOOOU!

[@subliminalvirus]

Miss what he did for skating he was so good and creative. now hes just a tool

[@chexybeast123]

I'm sorry man but you don't really don't know mike. He was great and watching him skately made me skate. As a Columbus ohio longboarder he did so much for our community to get other kids involved, and to this day will still skate occasionally and is spreading the stoke.

[@longboardingohio182]

PENTACAT What Johnny said. I am also a columbus longboarder. He made the longboarding community what it is today.

[@chexybeast123]

come skate in cbus

[@chexybeast123]

LongBoardingOhio come skate in columbus

[@longboardingohio182]

Johnny Volker I already do. Skate Leather lips? My kik is wwils10 if you want to have a session.

[@BLAZE13011]

This is how you shred it

[@originalskateboards]

GA Drache Word.

[@youpoopedyourtube6075]

not on drugs ;)

[@originalskateboards]

Honestly appreciated. Thanks for posting, Keep up the stoke!

[@borisnonceson]

one of the best edits I've ever seen! Keep up the good work guys!

[@ericgruler8141]

dam this kids good!

[@NomadWA]

Was good* sadly he got hung up with marry jane and her friends

[@20syncopate10]

even with a slight decline you barely have to push on any decent board. long b is the shit i wish i could just roll all day all night

[@kokokiygj01]

I agreeeeeeeee!!!! Now that would be the life

[@filmer74]

Favorite longboarding video

[@ANDIWASLIKEYES]

I'm going to cry because this is such. Beautiful man

[@SillyWhiteChild]

too bad he got addicted to drugs and stopped skating

[@kwekumensah5642]

Really???

[@SillyWhiteChild]

@@kwekumensah5642 yep, codeine

[@kwekumensah5642]

@@SillyWhiteChild dang

[@SillyWhiteChild]

@@ballistics1186 😁

[@skatingtatertot]

damn whats he up to these days?

[@dirickslotte9865]

Go watch hans wouters !!

[@rakeshbahuguna1219]

he is an exception

[@rakeshbahuguna1219]

hans wouter is a free style boarder...he is a freerider and hans sucks at freeride

[@gradyparks4570]

I remember watching this video over 2 years ago and it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Wish he had made more videos and skated for original longer. He was such a creative skater and brought a new perspective to the sport and it's such a shame what he did to his life.

[@originalskateboards]

Apex 40 DiamondDrop, One of my favs for freestyle / all around provided the pks are on there.

[@thehappypepper]

Codeine

[@drieshaans6249]

Hey original!! What an awesome video and crazy longboarding by mike

[@LydiaLeigh]

Dude, you totally did some shredding. I just started Longboarding about a month ago. I dunno if I could ever be that good! Good job and keep on shreddin'! :)

[@saperlippopette779]

this video is... AWESOME! watched the video like 100 times and still love it :D

[@TheAbaddon1975]

RESPECT BRO !! Mad skillz and a really cool vid. Nice to see youngsters rocking boards instead of consoles

[@TxSkills]

this kid is legit!! im just getting into the longboarding scene. skating for life but this new board is so sweet.

[@originalskateboards]

No sir. S8s are killer for carving and really a lot of fun if you are a surfer or a snowboarder with surf / snow carving simulation in mind. They are also a really good to ease the slide initiation and start to break your wheels free into a slide if you never have before. What they are not good for is anything over 15 to 20mph, or holding out longer slides once you know how to break your wheels free. Mike knows how to do that and goes faster than 15 to 20, hence other trucks on his deck : )

[@xBoBxSAGITx]

I own an Apex and I absolutely loooove it! I do wish it had a little bit more flex to it but it still flex's when you ride

[@alex76834]

Good Music + Good Rider +Good Editing = Awesome Video! Good Job Guys. :)

[@ProductionsDuck]

Awesome man!

[@caseyharwood4808]

I give this longboard video all of the credit to me even knowing who draft was this was the first song I've ever heard by draft and I've been listening to them ever since whoever actually rode this board in this video chose this song you sir are fantastic

[@TheSpecialsauce96]

almost a year later and this is still jaw dropping

[@originalskateboards]

Orders sometimes appear to get stuck on "building" as we have to enter our ship information by hand. So! That means that your board *probably* shipped and odds are good that it is pretty close to arriving. It's rare to have a board not go out the same day it was ordered (week days), and even MORE rare to have it not go out the next day. System upgrades are going in soon. Tracking will be real time. Stoked to see what you think on that Arbiter. Stop back by and let us know how it turns out.

[@BULPIN847]

great job guys

[@XLoLXMabe]

Lindsay . I love it how active you are on youtube and give awesome tips. Going for the DD

[@fullautoant]

this is amazing

[@Dries.D]

editing with this music and so much footage must be so fun ! :P

[@originalskateboards]

Hey, if your looking for sponsorship, send us a link to your videos and a little bit about your self to our customer support email. That way our team manager can view it and get back to you. _Davey

[@originalskateboards]

Depends on who you ask and on what they were trying to do with it. Unlike some of our pure downhill boards, like the Arbiter or Maven for example, the Apex has a heavy focus on both freestyle performance (plus custom noseguards to back that up in a way you wont find anywhere else) and carving / slow speed control. So for the stuff you see in this video, particularly on the slower end, its really solid deck... to go with being more long lasting vs freestyle. I like the DiamondDrop best.

[@marshallmoerbe7338]

2019 what up. Still supporting you my guy.

[@originalskateboards]

Fucking insane video isn't it? Haven't heard where Mike's at these days but if you run into him say what's up for me also. It's pretty hard to remember how insane some of the stuff Mike did here was at the time relative to what had been done on a longer board like this prior. Hope he's doing good. _Scott

[@MrJaryd2000]

Damn!! Sweet moves!

[@timwoodward88]

this deserves millions of views!

[@gartthomas3983]

just found out mike left original... He inspired me to start longboarding so now im watching all of his videos.

[@originalskateboards]

Lots of good options out there. From us if you are looking for a pure sliding deck try the Arbiter 36 (on the DH side of things) the Maven 35 or even the Drop Freeride 41. The Apex DiamondDrop that you see in this video is reinforced for freestyle, ie. treflips etc. If you don't want to do that stuff you are better off with those first three I just mentioned, if you DO, the DiamondDrop is a hard board to beat and even harder to kill / destroy (if that's the riding you are looking to do).

[@originalskateboards]

The choice between those two decks has a lot more to do with whether you plan to do freestyle / tricks with the deck than anything else. The Drop Freeride is wider and can be drop through mounted (good for beginners having trouble breaking wheels free). The Apex is super strong when used for freestyle and tricks. It was designed specifically for that application, so while the DiamondDrop adds a ton of sliding / freeride capacity, the value comes from the added life during freestyle.

[@alexwallis1997]

amazing man! never give up!

[@originalskateboards]

Yes, sort of. They do protect the board but the main thing they do is add more pop to the freestyle trick side of things. The board pops about twice as high and spins WAY faster with the PKs on there. Yes they do help with durability in a huge way, but changing the kick angle and plane of contact with the ground is one big reason you see people (Mikey among them) tre-flipping the Apex as a 40 inch longboard.

[@ThisMobsLeader]

This is awsome, the hills dont look steep when he does the tricks but hes going so fast at times

[@saikopiratos]

Heyho, its me again :D Pintail 43", ill buy this or the 37 this month. The vid to this board nd the design are awesome!

[@jsmith1754]

best longboard video ever mate :D

[@zozonozon3384]

awesome mike!

[@solblaze77]

Props to you dude.

[@originalskateboards]

Awesome! Thanks for the support :) Please let us know what you think of the DD once you get to ride it! -Lindsay

[@kendallhaley7139]

Best long boarder ive seen

[@coleschrader8203]

this is the second time ive seen this and it Impresses me over time

[@iksnivilstruk3295]

So gnarly!

[@psychoxdoctor6570]

I've seen amazing longboarders but this kid is the best I have ever seen

[@hexatl]

Wow longboarding looks mad fun.

[@originalskateboards]

Hey Sam, we do still have free shipping on the Arbiter deck. If you are buying another deck or complete the shipping will be $60 and take 3-5 business days to arrive. _Davey

[@Alexbarni1918]

I'd like to know what wheels are good for long and smooth slides. I'm thinking about orangatang durian 83a wheels but I' m not really sure yet. Do you recommend me any others?

[@robertpaul8998]

Love the music

[@julieholbrook5302]

Brutal skill.

[@Rafaeldardaque]

sick video!

[@originalskateboards]

This vid is almost exclusively shot on the 2012 proto formulas which we are still developing. No news on a release etc, but they obviously work pretty well. Still need some tuning, and some sort of release plan before these will see the light of day beyond the team though I think haha

[@BiRdO7777]

That kid is gonna go really far. Great style.

[@laserspear22]

He's actually a druggie who was recently put in rehab, though I think he's getting out soon.

[@originalskateboards]

The deck in this vid is the Apex 40 DiamondDrop, it is really designed for versatility; low speed, mid speed, but not so much high speed (ie. under 40 or 45mph). That being said, 45 mph is freaking fast if you aren't racing or arent used to it. The Apex 40 DiamondDrop goes for $229 for the deck but you could certainly go with something like the Arbiter KT ($109) or the Baffle ($119) either one would be better for high speed but not as good as the Apex at tricks specifically.

[@originalskateboards]

The price varies depending on your set up and also the materials used for the decks. Check out the Arbiter 36 which is $99 for the deck and also has free worldwide shipping. -Lindsay

[@stealthmermaid40]

Dat song.... Makes me get all funky every time

[@originalskateboards]

Well I will start by saying that will take as many Michael Virgins as we can haha Since there is only one that I know of we are looking for as close to that as you can come allowing for differences in style and differences in focus (ie freeride, freestyle, downhill are all differences in focus). If you keep an eye on our latest rideralliance posts (youtube . com/rideralliance) you can get a feel for recent stuff coming out of the team. You should be roughly that good : )

[@morepixels9999]

All I gotta say is Daaayam! dat wuz sick dawg!

[@getcutson]

Nice work

[@CRamon9]

Increible!

[@originalskateboards]

Hmm, good question. It really depends on how good you are. If you are seriously into this stuff most of the best guys are on the Arbiter 36. They have the balance to the point where they don't need any help from a drop, or anything else really. They want a short wheelbase to increase grip and in-slide-control in exchange for stability (again, they don't need it, their legs are strong enough). That said, for ME, I need the help and rock the Maven 35. It's about what YOU personall need : )

[@SunNSnowEdits]

Love my apex 40 DD! Even though she's a lil beat up with a broken nose guard, it adds character ;) I'm hoping to pick myself up an Arbiter DK this year though... This snow needs to melt. Love from Saskatchewan!

[@johnholliday2526]

If I had one wish, it would be the ability to longboard for the rest of eternity.

[@KanyeEastPimp]

Hey original! I'm looking for the best all around longboard, would apex 40 diamond drop be one? also what's the difference between diamond drop and av rocker concave??

[@legoreviewerman]

what trick is that that he does when he like toesides and spins the board in like a 360? thanks!

[@waterproofstudio]

It's a awesome place for longboard !!

[@originalskateboards]

Looks like a switch frontside slide bigspin followed by a back side 360 slide shovit to me, I could be wrong though haha

[@EpicAwesomeGamer11]

Dear Original I'm starting Free style and sliding, should I get The laded tain tien or the Original 41 W concave? Thank you.

[@OhMyGDC]

Hey Original, Is the Apex 40 DD any good for carving? Or should I choose a Pintail?

[@jo-eo9ld]

pretty sick riding from this kid--first thing I said at that power slide was "damn." haha. fast and fearless

[@KanyeEastPimp]

Hey Original, what would be the best apex 40 dd setup for cruising, sliding and carving (trucks and wheels)? Pls answer!!

[@triathlonSDhsp]

Epic! Slides look effortless. Shove-it slides are unreal. Wheels must be ultra iceey - contact patch is pretty wide. Skills for days.

[@danielsegundo6734]

This video still slaps in 2024

[@sebby007]

Nice video. Cool to see that there are some cool kids on youtube who do things on top of playing COD.

[@sectoronetwothree]

Sooooo Sickkkk. 2:25 looks like a dope spot to skate and to film!

[@ihalloway]

loved the outro xD